iWork Tutorial - Create a summer activities chart for kids

Six weeks off school during the summer break isn’t everybody’s idea of fun. What are you going to do with your kids for that amount of time, to keep them engaged and active without spending a fortune? The last thing you want is children running loose around the house with nothing to keep them occupied and out of trouble. By following this short tutorial, you can plan out activities for your kids on a day to day basis – even dividing their schedule up between morning and afternoon. This chart will make them feel as though there is always something to do and will help you to stay organised. You can even add different colour coding for each child if you have more than one.

Step 1: Blank template
Open Numbers and select the blank template from the template chooser. A table will then appear automatically.

Step 2: Days and weeks
Along the top row, enter all seven days of the weeks by clicking at the top of each column and typing. Add however many weeks you need down the side.

Step 3: Delete rows
Delete rows and columns that you don’t need by selecting them and right-clicking the mouse, while holding down the control key. Select Delete Columns.

Step 4: Resize
Resize the table to fill the page. Do this by clicking on it, then holding down the cursor on one of the corner points and dragging.

Step 5: Split rows
Select the empty part of the table. Right-click the mouse, while holding down the control key and select ‘Split into Rows’.

Step 6: Am and PM
We’re dividing each day into AM and PM. You don’t need to type into every box. Complete one row then use the copy and paste command.

Step 7: Style it up
To keep your audience engaged, you’ll need to add some finesse. Brighten it up using the colours palette, which you’ll see at the top right of the interface.

Step 8: Typography
Your chosen font should reflect the needs of your audience so we’ve chosen Marker Felt, which has a fun, child-like appeal to it.

Step 9: Entering data
When you’re ready, start inputting the data. We’ve colour coded each child and added an extra colour for joint activities.

Click on the image below to zoom in and view the annotations.